SAS Visual Analytics: Modern Theme Vs Classic Theme

At the SAS Global Forum 2016 the SAS Viya platform was announced and part of the platform was SAS Visual Analytics and SAS Visual Statistics converting to the HTML5 interface. Noticeable changes were that the Designer and the Explorer have merged into one interface and there is a spiffy new color Modern theme. Dr. Goodnight said the expected release of the tool was projected to be Fall 2016.

There were two demonstrations, which are available on Live Stream so you can see for yourself how the new interface looks and learn more about what is happening with Viya:

Modern versus Classic Home

The new interface colors seems to have moved from a Facebook-theme to a brighter, cleaner look called Modern. With SAS Visual Analytics 7.2/7.3, the Modern or HTML5 theme was introduced. The theme applies to the Hub (aka home page) and the Viewer. The following figure shows how the Modern theme looks on the Hub and in the Viewer. It does have a clean, perhaps flat look.

The Classic or Flash-based theme is still available. The following figure shows how this theme looks in the Hub or Viewer. You can see on the Hub how it has a Facebook like color scheme. I am partial to this color scheme but I like the new one was well.

Issues with the Modern Theme

Many sites are choosing to return to using the Classic theme. There are various reasons and here’s some of the communications from SAS about what issues are being noticed. These issues do not affect everyone. (Thanks to Michelle Homes for posting these in SAS Communities.)

However the biggest issue is that the Export to Excel is not supported.

Export to Excel Only Available with Classic Theme

Many viewers want to download a visualization’s supporting data for various reasons. When using the Classic Viewer, you can right-click an object and select Export <name>,you are able to download the data as Excel or CSV file. This is not possible with the Modern viewer. In the following figure, you can see the difference in the Viewer. As you can see, when you right-click in the Classic Viewer there are several options, but in the Modern Viewer there is only one.

Switching to SAS Visual Analytics Classic Mode

Users can switch to the Classic mode from the Hub or the Viewer from the Preferences > Settings menu.

Administrators can force users to the Classic theme regardless of any preferences chosen by the user. There are two properties in the SAS Management Console: one for the Hub and the other for the Viewer. These settings are documented in the SAS Visual Analytics Administrators Guide.

Thanks to David Rice for showing me how quick and easy this process is.

In the Define New Property window, add vav.ui.mode and set this to property to classic.

Each site needs to decide the priorities and use cases before deciding if they want to switch. It’s possible to switch the Viewer and leave the Hub alone. You may want your users to start learning the new interface. Tell me in the Comments about your experiences.

Updated 21JUN2016 to include new SAS note.

Never miss a BI Notes post!

Click here for free subscription.
Once you subscribe you'll be asked to confirm your subscription through your email account.
You email address is kept private and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Tricia Aanderud is a SAS Business Intelligence and Visual Analytics consultant based in Raleigh, NC who works for Zencos Consulting. She has written several books about SAS, presented papers at many SAS conferences, and has been using SAS since 2001. Contact her for assistance with your next project.